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"Lagen är lika mycket med oß, som med dem": Direkt aktion, brännvinsbränning och massans moraliska ekonomi i 1850-talets Karlshamn

Jukkola Hedlund, Per LU (2018) HISK37 20181
History
Abstract
This thesis aims to investigate a case of worker’s direct action against distilleries of hard liquor (brännvin) in the southern Swedish town of Karlshamn, November 1853. Many people were angry because the distilleries were allowed to keep on distilling grains and potatoes despite the constantly increasing shortage of basic foodstuffs. By applying English historian E.P. Thompson’s theory of “the moral economy of the crowd”, I seek to analyse how the workers and craftsmen who participated in this act of civil disobedience later justified their participation during interrogations with local authorities and in letters to the editor in the local newspaper Carlshamns Allehanda. I also investigate how representatives of other social classes and... (More)
This thesis aims to investigate a case of worker’s direct action against distilleries of hard liquor (brännvin) in the southern Swedish town of Karlshamn, November 1853. Many people were angry because the distilleries were allowed to keep on distilling grains and potatoes despite the constantly increasing shortage of basic foodstuffs. By applying English historian E.P. Thompson’s theory of “the moral economy of the crowd”, I seek to analyse how the workers and craftsmen who participated in this act of civil disobedience later justified their participation during interrogations with local authorities and in letters to the editor in the local newspaper Carlshamns Allehanda. I also investigate how representatives of other social classes and social groups in the city looked upon the illegal action and issues related to the manufacturing of hard liquor and food shortages. My findings seems to suggest that there did indeed exist a “moral economy” amongst working people in Karlshamn at this time. People seemed to be more upset about the fact that the food was too costly, rather than complaining that their wages were too low. Some of the workers argued that they actually had the law on their side and were in fact fulfilling the will of the King through the insubordination towards the local authorities – a phenomena I link to James C. Scott’s theory on “naïve monarchism”. Others argued that in a situation of dire need, the law ceased being valid: it became “un-law” as one worker phrased it. Some of the more well-off citizens of Karlshamn seemed to sympathise with the plight of the workers, while others accused them of being criminals. However, all of them stressed that the workers should stop drinking hard liquor in their own spare time and ought to “start the change with themselves”. I interpret this as an inability of the social elites to properly understand the character of this small uprising; that it was a food riot and not a temperance manifestation. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Denna kandidatuppsats undersöker en direkt aktion mot brännvinsbrännerier som genomfördes i Karlshamn, november 1853. Den arbetande befolkningen i staden var vid denna tid mycket upprörda över det faktum att de lokala brännvinsbrännerierna fick fortsätta att köpa upp och bränna spannmål och potatis, trots den ständigt ökande bristen på livsmedel. Genom att tillämpa den brittiske historiken E.P. Thompsons teori om ”massans moraliska ekonomi” så undersöker jag hur de arbetare och hantverkare som deltog i aktionen i efterhand motiverade sitt deltagande under förhör med de lokala myndigheterna och i insändare till lokaltidningen Carlshamns Allehanda. Jag undersöker också hur representanter för andra samhällsklasser och sociala grupper såg på... (More)
Denna kandidatuppsats undersöker en direkt aktion mot brännvinsbrännerier som genomfördes i Karlshamn, november 1853. Den arbetande befolkningen i staden var vid denna tid mycket upprörda över det faktum att de lokala brännvinsbrännerierna fick fortsätta att köpa upp och bränna spannmål och potatis, trots den ständigt ökande bristen på livsmedel. Genom att tillämpa den brittiske historiken E.P. Thompsons teori om ”massans moraliska ekonomi” så undersöker jag hur de arbetare och hantverkare som deltog i aktionen i efterhand motiverade sitt deltagande under förhör med de lokala myndigheterna och i insändare till lokaltidningen Carlshamns Allehanda. Jag undersöker också hur representanter för andra samhällsklasser och sociala grupper såg på aktionen. Min undersökning pekar på att det faktiskt fanns ett slags massans moraliska ekonomi inom arbetarklassen i Karlshamn vid denna tidpunkt. Människor upprördes över att priserna på mat var för höga snarare än att lönerna var för låga. Även det faktum att bränneriägarna köpte upp stora mängder spannmål i parti utan att dessa först saluförts till alla på marknaden var orsak till missnöje. Vissa av arbetarna argumenterade för att aktionen hade lag och rätt på sin sida och att det snarast var aktionsdeltagarna som upprätthöll och verkställde lagen och konungens vilja, ett fenomen jag kopplar till James C. Scotts teori om ”den naiva monarkismen”. Andra arbetare menade att lagen i en nödställd situation upphörde att var giltig: den blev ”olag” som en arbetare uttryckte det. En del av de mer välbeställda invånarna i Karlshamn sympatiserade med de arbetande klassernas nödställda situation medan andra anklagade dem och kallade dem kriminella. De var däremot alla överens om att arbetarna framförallt borde sluta dricka brännvin på sin fritid och istället ”börja förändringen hos sig själva”. Jag tolkar detta som en oförmåga från överhetens sida att förstå att aktionen mot brännerierna var en hungerprotest och inte en
nykterhetsmanifestation. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Jukkola Hedlund, Per LU
supervisor
organization
course
HISK37 20181
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Hungerupplopp, direkt aktion, Karlshamn, massans moraliska ekonomi, brännvinsbränning, the moral economy of the crowd, hunger riots, direct action.
language
Swedish
id
8946809
date added to LUP
2018-11-26 09:52:58
date last changed
2018-11-26 09:52:58
@misc{8946809,
  abstract     = {{This thesis aims to investigate a case of worker’s direct action against distilleries of hard liquor (brännvin) in the southern Swedish town of Karlshamn, November 1853. Many people were angry because the distilleries were allowed to keep on distilling grains and potatoes despite the constantly increasing shortage of basic foodstuffs. By applying English historian E.P. Thompson’s theory of “the moral economy of the crowd”, I seek to analyse how the workers and craftsmen who participated in this act of civil disobedience later justified their participation during interrogations with local authorities and in letters to the editor in the local newspaper Carlshamns Allehanda. I also investigate how representatives of other social classes and social groups in the city looked upon the illegal action and issues related to the manufacturing of hard liquor and food shortages. My findings seems to suggest that there did indeed exist a “moral economy” amongst working people in Karlshamn at this time. People seemed to be more upset about the fact that the food was too costly, rather than complaining that their wages were too low. Some of the workers argued that they actually had the law on their side and were in fact fulfilling the will of the King through the insubordination towards the local authorities – a phenomena I link to James C. Scott’s theory on “naïve monarchism”. Others argued that in a situation of dire need, the law ceased being valid: it became “un-law” as one worker phrased it. Some of the more well-off citizens of Karlshamn seemed to sympathise with the plight of the workers, while others accused them of being criminals. However, all of them stressed that the workers should stop drinking hard liquor in their own spare time and ought to “start the change with themselves”. I interpret this as an inability of the social elites to properly understand the character of this small uprising; that it was a food riot and not a temperance manifestation.}},
  author       = {{Jukkola Hedlund, Per}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{"Lagen är lika mycket med oß, som med dem": Direkt aktion, brännvinsbränning och massans moraliska ekonomi i 1850-talets Karlshamn}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}